Bottle dispensing cabinet



Feb. 17, 1953' M. EVERHART BOTTLE DISPENSING CABINET Filed March 25, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 fl/VFCEL Live-Ryan Feb. 17, 1953 M. L.;EV ERHART BOTTLE DISPENSING CABINET 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 25, 1948 lllll HH Feb. .17, 1953 M. L. EVERHART BOTTLE DISPENSING CABINET Filed March 25, 1948 -4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Feb. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES ICE aszasr BOTTLE DISPENSING. c-ABINEm M rce Lg Ewha t washi ei ain. Application March 25, 1948, SerialNo. 16,982.

. 1, qle i oi." necessity located only at attended vending points.

Again, bottle vending machines heretofore have been unduly complex, having a large num.- ber. of moving partsrequiring delicate adjust.- rnent, which factor requires frequent servicing with resulting loss oipotential profi-t time. It is an object of this invention, therefore, to pro.- vide a dispensing device which mayv be. suitably coin controlled and from which a plurality of bottles are dispensed at each insertion of a coin cf the required denomination. The design herein is predicated on the thought that four bottles may be delivered to a purchaser for a selected coin unit, for example, twenty fi-ve cents in the case of soft drinks which have an oven the-counter sale price of five cents. per bottle.

This price may be considered as including seventeen cents for the contents and the usual two cents per bottle deposit. The slight gross loss on the contents accordingto this system of-v-ende ing, is more than compensated bythe fact that the Vending device herein may be installed and 'usedsuccessfully in locations which are entirely unattended and which, consequently, have heretoiore been unavailable for the use of" automatic vending machines.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a vending machine which is extremely simple in its structure and which includes only a single moving; part for efiecting the vending operation.

Simplicity of structure is an essential in a ma;-

chine which is designed for installation in locations where no attendant is constantly available.

Ihese and other objects of the invention will become clear as the description of the cabinet and the operation thereof is read in light of the drawings forming apart of this application and which drawings:

th i en ng cab net f r in h subje t r 'hsr i- Fi 2 is a p rs ct v iew 9 the white spew ng the. cabine 9 001. and he 199d. 1. o n eti io is 'fi a cr ss secti na new n l ne. -3 91 Fig. '4.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of; the exterior of (01,. sizes? 2 Fin cra s. ctional. ie l n 4.114

Bis. 5 i ress sec onal. V ew n l ne .75

. i a t ts. entinel view n ine i -6 p e sartnenis t .9 2 a designed. is h d hen-emit t ked. po i ed, A fixed st i s and b low the pen end fieac o I t .P m e s. 2. at i a wh ch i not easement mor t n t e et r c the s. be del ver d.- The m mbers rm each two thet oi an en ar c e delfi thr u h which he, arti t a d W gravity ont an a t ZQ mpuntecl for recipn. mem rs l4. and. the 1p er M e arti le. r e vin .0 1 partments 12. The discharge carriage consists s ntient Q? a. ec angu ar f ame, 3? wh ch h stud t. a pl xa itrof rans ea ti 2. farmin etw n ach two e en sm t rew n p sj i 6. ha

Wtiich. is n t su stant ally o th n c to be delivered. guitan. ts actua in ha dl it, has been ro ed or ec p ocat ng the carriage .0 whereb rans erse e ements as may be aligned with the transverse stonmsm bers IA for. the. simultaneous discharge of a pillralityot articles, through the delivery passages. U5.

In its. most specific aspect, the dispensing cabinet herein is designed for the simultaneous deliver-y of a plurality of cylindrical bottles from one or the otherof a plurality of bottleireceiving magazines A or B- see Fig. 3 each magazine being composed of a plurality or vertical open ended bottle receiving compartments l2. ifhe nurn bfer of receiving compartments constituting a. mag zin i p pne z u a ie ein been showfi as consisting otipur such compartments to each maga r V The dis ens ng cab ne eq sts of d Walls 32, a rear wall 34- and a plurality of vertically 3 disposed substantially parallel compartment defining walls 35.

A predetermined number of compartment defining walls are contiguously located as a group to constitute a magazine, while a second spaced series of compartment defining walls form the compartments constituting the second magazine. Herein the magazines A and B have been illustrated as being composed of four article receiving compartments arranged in side by side relation. For convenience of illustration the magazines have been illustrated as being composed of an equal number of compartments, but one magazine may include a greater number of compart- Herein, the magazines ments than the other. A and B have been illustrated as spaced from each other by an upright channel 38 into which no articles are deposited. The compartment defining walls may be supported from a transverse supporting member 40. -Spaced below the transverse supporting member All and consequently below the lower open ends of compartments i2 is a second transverse support member 32 between which and the rear wall 34 of the cabinet are shown in Fig. 9) and this carriage is a generally rectangular frame member consisting of side supports 44 which are adapted to support the transverse article transferring elements 24. It will be noted that the transverse article transferring elements are arranged parallel to each other and defined between each two thereof an article receiving pocket 26. The article transfer elements 24 are arranged within the discharge carriage 'in two groups designated in Fig. 9 as C and D. The pockets of group C'are' designed to cooperate with article receiving compartments of magazine A while the pockets of group D are designed to cooperate with the article receiving compart ments of magazine B.

In order that articles may be discharged from the magazines alternately, the transverse article transfer elements 24 of one group are offset with respect to the transverse article transfer elements of the other group. This offset is substantially half the width of an article receiving compartment. The relationship of the transverse article transfer elements with reference to the lower open ends of the article receiving compartments I 2 and the fixed stop members it may best be seen in Figs. 3 and 5. The fixed stop members extending along the medial depth of the compartments 12 thereby forming an abutment against which the articles in the respective compartments may rest when the discharge carriage 2B is reciprocated to bring the transverse article transfer elements of one group into registration with the compartment defining walls 36 of its related magazine.

When in such position, the transverse article transfer elements 24 of the other group are in alignment with the fixed stop members i4 underlying the opposite magazine. The upper face 46 of each of the transverse elements is cam shaped in order to utilize the weight of the cylindrical 4 articles for reciprocating the discharge carriage. Herein the upper face 46 has been illustrated as more or less semi-cylindrical in transverse cross section. It will be appreciated, however, that the same result may be achieved with other cam-like contours.

The discharge carriage 20 has provided in one end thereof an eye 48 through which the actuating handle 28 may be extended to impart manual reciprocating motion to the carriage. The handle 28 is pivoted on a post 50 about the end of which it may turn upon application of force to the handle 28.

The carriage 25 is effectively retained between the supporting members 49 and 52 by means of a pair of guide plates 52. The guide plates are removably secured in position so that the carriage may be easily withdrawn. A pair of over-center springs 54 interconnect the supporting member 42 and one of the side supports 44 of the carriage to further facilitate carriage reciprocation.

The fixed stop members l4 provide between each two thereof an open article receiving passage I6 through which the articles within the cabinet may drop by gravity onto the article receiving support !8.

Herein the article receiving support has been illustrated as a pair of outwardly slanted members 58 which extend forwardly of the cabinet and terminate in an article receiving trough 58. Herein, each article receiving support is confined between a pair of adjacent walls 88 which are in effect a downward continuation of the fixed stop members l4.

In its preferred form the cabinet is provided with a pair of loading doors 62 and 64 which are hinged at one vertical edge of the cabinet to enclose the article receiving compartments. Furthermore, it is desirable that the entire structure .be'encased in an outer casing 66 which includes a casing door 68 provided with suitable lock mechanism for securely holding the same in closed position. The door 88 has a suitable aperture 10 through which the article receiving trough 58 projects when the door 68 is closed. Similarly, the operating lever 28 projects outwardly of the door 68 through the operating lever slot 72 in the face of the door. It is contemplated that a coin control mechanism 14 be provided, but since such devices are conventional in dispensing cabinets and form no part of this invention it is deemed unnecessary to describe the same specifically.

The cabinet will be arranged in the outer casing 66 so as to position the article receiving .trough 58 at a convenient height and provide thereunder a compartment 16 adapted to receive supply cartons, such as beverage cases.

1 With parts in position as shown in Fig. 3 and the several compartments l2 loaded with bottles 30 the lower bottle in each of the compartments in magazine A will rest on the upper surface of the transverse bottle transfer members 24, while the lowermost bottles in magazine B will rest on the upper surface of the stop members it. In this position all bottles are blocked against gravity discharge through the discharge passage.

. A coin may now be inserted in the coin control mechanism thereby releasing the operating lever 28 for manual reciprocation toward the left in Fig. 3. Upon movement of the discharge carriage 20 to a position wherein the transfer elements 24 are in alignment with the stop members l4 under the magazine B, the bottles in the several compartments I2 will be discharged through the araccepts tiiilddelii/ry passages which are offset to the left of" the respective compartments. Herein" the four lower bottles in magazine B will be discharged into thearticle receiving trough 58 where they are readily accessible.

With the same movement of the discharge carriage 2B, the transverse article transfer ele-- merits 243 underlying compartments ii! of the magazine A will have been shifted to the left substantially half the distance between two of the compartment defining walls 35' in which. po sitioitthe transfer elements under the magazine A: are in alignment with the compartment define ihg' walls 36 of that magazine. This movement of the carriage under the magazine" Awill ermit the bottles in the compartments of magazine A to drop down onto the fixed stop members- I14; thereby loading the left end ofthe' discharge carria'ge for discharge of bottles on the return reciprocation of the carriage.

Herein it'is assumed that the coin control mechanism will permit operation of the manual operating lever 28 in one direction only for each coin. insertion; Therefore, the carriage will be locked in its extreme left hand position as viewed irrv Fig; 3- andta return reciprocation thereof necessitates the insertion of another coin into the coin control device: Upon subsequent release; therefore, of the operating lever 2-3 the carriage illimay be returned to its right hand position. as viewed in Fig. 3, thereby discharging the bottles from the-compartments of magazine A. Thisdischange takes place through the discharge passages it which are offset slightly to the right with respectto the compartments it of the mag.- azine A. yWhile discharge is taking place from the-magazine A, the transverse article transfer elements 24 underlying the compartments of magazine 3 will release the bottles in the compartments of that magazine thereby reloading the right hand end of the discharge carriage. The foregoing cycle of operation may be continned for the alternate discharge of a plurality of bottles. from one magazine and' then the other so long. as there is a supply of bottles in the compartments of which the respective magazines are composed.

The" cylindrical surface of the. bottles in the respective magazines and the weightv thereof cooperate with the cam shaped surface 45- of the transverse article transfer elements 2 to render effective aid in the reciprocation of the discharge carriage 20'. With the parts in position as shown in Fig. 3, the carriage need only be started toward the left to render the bottle weight in the magazine A effective to complete the reciprocation of the carriage. Furthermore, the overc enter springs 54 further assist in rendering the reciprocating movement of the carriage quite easy;

Having described the dispensing cabinet in one operative" embodiment, what is claimed herein is the following:

I. In a dispensing cabinet designed to deliver aplurality of uniform articles at a single operation, a plurality of vertical open ended article receiving compartments designed to hold articles therein in stacked position, a fixed stop member spaced below the open end of each of said compartments a distance notsubstantially more than the diameter of the articles to be delivered, said members between each two thereof forming an open' article delivery passage, the upper surfaces of said stop members formed with a downwardly directed cam surface, a discharge carriage 6. mounted for reciprocation between said stop members and the open end of said compartments, transverse article transfer elements on said carriage; coop-crating with said stop members and" forming between each two elements an open article receiving pocket having a width not sub stafiti'ally more than the diameter of an article to be delivered, at least one of said pockets being off-set with respect to the remainder, and means for reciprocating said carriage whereby said elements may be aligned with their cooperating stop members during each stroke of the carriagefor the discharge of articles through said de livery passages.

2. In a dispensing cabinet designed to deliver a plurality of uniform articles at a single operation, a plurality of vertical open ended article receiving compartments designed to hold articles therein in stacked position, a fixed stop member spaced below the open end of each of said compartments av distance not substantially more than the diameter of the articles to be delivered, said 'members between each two thereof forming an open article delivery passage, a discharge carriage mounted for reciprocation between said stopmemb'ers and the open end of said compartments; transverse article transfer elements on said carriage forming between each two there of an open article receiving pocket having a width not substantially more than the diameter of an article to be delivered, the upper surface of said elements being cam-shaped whereby the weight of articles thereon tends tomove said carriage transversely, and means for reciprocating said carriage whereby said elements may be aligned with said stop members for the simultaneous discharge. of a plurality of articles through said delivery passages.

3 In a dispensing cabinet designed to deliver a plurality of cylindrical bottles at a single operation, a plurality of vertical open ended bottle receiving compartments designed to hold bottles therein in stacked position, a fixed stop member spaced below the open end of each of said compartments a distance not substantially more than the diameter of the bottles to be delivered, said members between each two thereof forming an open bottle delivery passage, a discharge carriage mounted for reciprocation between said stop members and the open end of said compartments, transverse bottle transfer elements on said car riage cooperating with said stop members and forming between each two elements an open bottle receiving pocket having a width not substantially more than the diameter of a bottle to be delivered, the upper bottle engaging surface of said elements being rounded whereby the weight of bottles thereon tends to move said carriage transversely, at least one of said pockets being off-set with respect to the remainder thereof, and means for reciprocating said carriage whereby said elements may be aligned with their cooperating stop members during each stroke of the carriage for the discharge of bottles through said delivery passages.

4. In a dispensing cabinet designed to deliver a plurality of uniform articles at a single operation, two groups of article receiving magazines each consisting of a plurality of vertical open ended article receiving compartments designed to hold articles therein in stacked position, a fixed stop member spaced below the open end of each of said compartments a distance not substantial- 1y more than the diameter of the articles to be delivered, the upper surface of said stop member being formed with a downwardly directed cam surface, said members between each two thereof forming an open article delivery passage, a discharge carriage mounted for reciprocation between said stop members and the open end of said compartments, transverse article transfer elements on said carriage cooperating with said stop members and forming between each two elements an open article receiving pocket having a width not substantially more than the diameter of an article to be delivered, the transfer elements under one of said magazines being off-set with respect to the elements under the other of said magazines, and means for reciprocating said carriage whereby said elements may be aligned with their cooperating stop members during each stroke of the carriage for the simultaneous discharge of a plurality of articles through said delivery passages.

5. In a dispensing cabinet designed to deliver a plurality of uniform articles at a single operation, two groups of article receiving magazines each consisting of a plurality of vertical open ended article receiving compartments designed to hold articles therein in stacked position, a fixed stop member spaced below the open end of each of said compartments a distance not substantially more than the diameter of the articles to be delivered, the upper surfaces of said stop members being formed with a downwardly directed cam surface, said members between each two thereof forming an open article delivery passage, a discharge carriage mounted for reciprocation between said stop members and the open end of said compartments, transverse article transfer elements on said carriage cooperating with said stop members and forming between each two elements an open article receiving pocket having a width not substantially more than the diami eter of an article to be delivered, said transfer elements formed with a downwardly directed article engaging cam surface, the transfer elements under one of said magazines being olfset substantially half the distance between any two thereof with respect to the elements under the other of said magazines, and means for reciprocating said carriage whereby said elements may be aligned with their cooperating stop members during each stroke of the carriage for the simultaneous discharge of a plurality of articles through said delivery passages.

6. In a dispensing cabinet designed to deliver a plurality of cylindrical articles at a single operation, two groups of article receiving magazines each consisting of a plurality of vertical open ended article receiving compartments designed to hold articles therein in stacked position, a fixed stop member spaced below the open end of each of said compartments a distance not substantially more than the diameter of the articles to be delivered, said members between each two thereof forming an open article delivery passage, a discharge carriage mounted for reciprocation between said stop members and the open end of said compartments, transverse article transfer elements on said carriage cooperating with said stop members and forming between each two elements an open article receiving pocket having a width not substantially more than the diameter of an article to be delivered, the upper article engaging surface of said elements being camshaped whereby the weight of articles thereon tends to move said carriage transversely, the transfer elements under one of said magazines being off-set with respect to the elements under the other of said magazines, and means for reciprocating said carriage whereby said elements may be aligned with their cooperating stop members during each stroke of the carriage for the simultaneous discharge of a plurality of articles through said delivery passages.

'7. In a dispensing cabinet designed to deliver a plurality of cylindrical bottles at a single operation, two groups of bottle receiving magazines each consisting of a plurality of vertical open ended bottle receiving compartments designed to hold bottles therein in stacked position, a fixed stop member spaced below the open end of each of said compartments a distance not substantially more than the diameter of the bottles to be delivered, said members between each two thereof forming an open bottle delivery passage, a discharge carriage mounted for reciprocation between said stop members and the open end of said compartments, transverse bottle transfer elements on said carriage cooperating with said members and forming between each two elements an open bottle receiving pocket having a width not substantially more than the diameter of a bottle tobe delivered, the upper bottle engaging surface of said elements being rounded whereby the weight of the bottles thereon tends to move said carriage transversely, the transfer elements under one of said magazines being off-set substantially half the distance between any two thereof with respect to the elements under the other of said magazines, and means for reciprocating said carriage whereby said elements may be aligned with their cooperating stop members during each stroke of said carriage for the simultaneous discharge of a plurality of bottles throi'gh said delivery passages.

8. In a dispensing cabinet designed for the alternate delivery of articles from a pair of storage magazin-es, a pair of vertical open ended magazines arranged in contiguous parallel relation, a gravity discharge passage at the bottom of said magazines, a discharge carriage mounted for reciprocating movement across the op n ends of said magazines, a plurality of article transfer elements forming an article receiving pocket for each of said magazines, said transfer elements formed with a downwardly directed article engaging cam surface, the elements forming one pocket being offset with respect to the elements forming the other pocket whereby discharge of an article may take place from one magazine while the discharge of an article from the other magazine is blocked by the cam surface of one of said elements.

9. In a dispensing cabinet designed for the alternate delivery of a plurality of articles from a pair of storage magazines, a pair of storage magazines each comprising a plurality of vertical open ended compartments arranged in contiguous parallel relation, a gravity discharge passage at the bottom of each of said compartments, a discharge carriage mounted for reciprocating movement across the open ends of said compartments, a plurality of article transfer elements in said discharge carriage forming an article receiving pocket for each of said compartments, said transfer elements formed with a downwardly directed article engaging cam surface the elements forming one set of pockets bein oifset with respect to the elements forming the other set of pockets whereby discharge of an article may take place from one magazine while discharge of an article from the other magazine is blocked by the cam surfaces by said elements.

10. A discharge carriage for article dispensing cabinets having a plurality of vertical gravity discharge article receiving compartments, a rectangular frame adapted for reciprocation, a plurality of transverse bars dividing said frame into a plurality of open discharge pockets, the upper face of each of said bars being cam-shaped whereby the weight of articles thereon tends to reciprocate said carriage.

11. A discharge carriage for article dispensing cabinets having a plurality of vertical gravity discharge article receiving compartments, a rectangular frame adapted for reciprocation, a plu- 10 rality of transverse bars dividing said frame into a plurality of open discharge pockets, the upper face of each of said bars being semi-cylindrical whereby the weight of articles thereon tends to reciprocate said carriage.

MARCEL L. EVERHART.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,205,094 Hoffman Nov. 14, 1916 1,767,112 Antoine et a1 June 24, 1930 

